November 28, 2007 - In addition to a new salary ordinance, the Knightstown Town Council also passed two other ordinances on first reading at its November 21 meeting.
If approved twice more and enacted by the council, one ordinance will increase the cost for burial of cremated remains at Glen Cove Cemetery. The fee will rise from $200 to $300, with the price including a burial vault.

The second ordinance, which also needs to be passed twice more, will update the fine schedule for violations of town ordinances. The new fines, covering traffic and parking violations, as well as violations of town ordinances dealing with animals, buildings and property, noise and many other matters, will be the same as those currently used by the city of New Castle.

The council did enact a new ordinance at last week's meeting. Ordinance No. 10-2007 makes the intersection of Blaine and Silver streets a four-way stop.

In other business, the council held a public hearing regarding the possible sale of the old town court building at 203 E. Main St. The council voted to appoint Works Manager Matlock, who also serves as the town's building inspector, to be the "disposing agent" for the property, and to proceed without a realtor at this time.

The council's attorney, David Copenhaver, advised them the property cannot be sold for less than 90 percent of the appraised value. At no time during the brief hearing did the council, Copenhaver, the town's clerk-treasurer or town's building inspector disclose the amount of the appraisal - $18,000 - for the benefit of those in attendance.

Council member-elect Terry Guerin, who takes Council President David Glenn's Ward 4 seat January 1, told the council he recently attended a property tax meeting in Indianapolis sponsored by the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. He said he suggested to four state lawmakers who were there that they consider exempting a person's primary residence from property taxes. Guerin said he plans to attend a public hearing in Indianapolis on December 3 and continue to monitor action in the state legislature on this issue.

Erma Keller, vice president of the town's plan commission, presented the council with a copy of a comprehensive plan the commission recently drafted and approved. Plan Commission President and council member-elect Clyde South, who replaces Council Vice President Nate Hamilton at the first of the year, asked the council to pass an ordinance adopting the plan. Copenhaver said the council will need to hold a public hearing before doing that, but that he would go ahead and prepare the ordinance for the council's December meeting.

Knightstown resident Shirley Richardson asked the council to pass a resolution addressing the unsanitary conditions on a property located behind her East Carey Street residence. Despite having complained twice at town hall, phoned in a complaint and been to the police department, she said no corrective action had been taken.

Matlock told the council he had spoken to the owner of the offending property, who happens to be his brother, and that his brother planned to work on getting the property cleaned up that weekend. Glenn told Matlock to give his brother until the "first of the week" to get something done.

The council took no action on Matlock's request for the town to buy a new half-ton pickup truck to replace the one he now drives. He said Kahlo's had a 2004 model in stock for $22,430, but council members Valerie Trump and Cort Swincher both said they would like to see another quote from somewhere else.

In another matter, Matlock estimated it would cost between $3,000 and $4,000 to run water and sewer lines under State Road 109 from Knightstown Elementary. A month earlier, at their October 17 meeting, four council members - Glenn, Trump, Steve Nelson and Hamilton - had said their consensus was to waive the fees for hooking on to the town's water and wastewater systems in exchange for a property owner on the west side of the road's agreement to be annexed by the town.